Props, Props, Props
In days of yore any club coach wishing to be successful spent his days wandering up and down school or junior club pitches searching for a sidestepping stand off, a tough scrum half, a crafty centre, or a pacy winger. Such players, by their dramatic interventions in a game, could almost guarantee a win, whatever the prowess of the pack of forwards in front of them.
Not so today as the introduction of new laws over the past twenty years and the increasing influence of the scrums, lineouts, rucks and mauls have increased the power and domination of the forwards. And especially the influence of those “Jewels in the Crown”, the prop forwards, a species of player now in ever increasing demand but becoming rarer and rarer season by season.
With Health and Safety restrictions now imposed on any emerging young props at schoolboy levels club coaches these days have their binoculars trained on anyone who even resembles a prop forward, such is their plight. Rumour has it that many clubs keep their front row trios under lock and key in a cupboard, only letting them out on match days, such is the fear of losing them. In rugby union they are so valuable because they are a fundamental part of the scrummage, which in itself lies at the heart of the 15 aside code’s style of play.
Matters in the front row would appear to be set to become even worse for clubs well below the heady heights of the National Leagues thanks to the “Harlequins’ Bloodgate “ scandals, with a law change being introduced to put an end to another area of blatant cheating – teams deliberately resorting to uncontested scrums to ease pressure on struggling forward packs. This season in the Premiership the replacement benches must include a full secondary front row. Yes, just think of the knock on effect down the leagues of six front rowers being required for one team in the Premiership.
No wonder lesser club coaches up and down the country are strengthening those locks on the cupboards which hoard their “Jewels in the Crown”.
Ray French (September 2009)
In days of yore any club coach wishing to be successful spent his days wandering up and down school or junior club pitches searching for a sidestepping stand off, a tough scrum half, a crafty centre, or a pacy winger. Such players, by their dramatic interventions in a game, could almost guarantee a win, whatever the prowess of the pack of forwards in front of them.
Not so today as the introduction of new laws over the past twenty years and the increasing influence of the scrums, lineouts, rucks and mauls have increased the power and domination of the forwards. And especially the influence of those “Jewels in the Crown”, the prop forwards, a species of player now in ever increasing demand but becoming rarer and rarer season by season.
With Health and Safety restrictions now imposed on any emerging young props at schoolboy levels club coaches these days have their binoculars trained on anyone who even resembles a prop forward, such is their plight. Rumour has it that many clubs keep their front row trios under lock and key in a cupboard, only letting them out on match days, such is the fear of losing them. In rugby union they are so valuable because they are a fundamental part of the scrummage, which in itself lies at the heart of the 15 aside code’s style of play.
Matters in the front row would appear to be set to become even worse for clubs well below the heady heights of the National Leagues thanks to the “Harlequins’ Bloodgate “ scandals, with a law change being introduced to put an end to another area of blatant cheating – teams deliberately resorting to uncontested scrums to ease pressure on struggling forward packs. This season in the Premiership the replacement benches must include a full secondary front row. Yes, just think of the knock on effect down the leagues of six front rowers being required for one team in the Premiership.
No wonder lesser club coaches up and down the country are strengthening those locks on the cupboards which hoard their “Jewels in the Crown”.
Ray French (September 2009)